Macquarie the Pick for an Australian Health Sciences Degree

on November 1st, 2013

Canadians looking ‘down under’ for a master’s degree in health will be interested in Macquarie University, named Australia’s best university under 50 years of age by QS in 2013.

Macquarie has invested heavily in health in recent years, with a multi-million dollar private teaching hospital opened on the campus in 2010, and new chiropractic and biological sciences laboratories offering some of the best learning spaces in the Asia-Pacific region.

Macquarie University offers New South Wales’ only Doctor of Physiotherapy degree. (Photo: Corey Butler)

The University’s Australian Hearing Hub, which opened in April this year, brings together some of the country’s best researchers and service providers in hearing and language disorders. It gives students an unparalleled opportunity to work alongside industry experts in brand-new laboratories.

Employment prospects are bright for Canadian students seeking to work in speech and hearing in Australia. The Australian Government anticipates that 10 million of its aging population will suffer some kind of hearing loss by 2050, creating increased demand for qualified professionals.

Vancouver-born student Win Sum Cheung chose to pursue a master’s degree at Macquarie after finding limited options in Canada. She will complete her two-year Master of Speech and Language Pathology degree this year.

“I applied to a few Australian universities, but through my research I found that Macquarie’s program was more established,” she says. “It also offers a wider variety of clinical placements, so I could get work experience in paediatric or a hospital or a school, depending on my interests.”

Aside from its highly regarded programs in speech and hearing and chiropractic science, Macquarie also recently introduced a Doctor of Physiotherapy—the first such degree in New South Wales. The three-year master’s program sees students graduate with advanced clinical skills as well as business, management and leadership training.

The University’s Bachelor of Human Sciences degree provides an undergraduate pathway to the Doctor of Physiotherapy as well as a qualification for students interested in a career in counselling, community-based care, disability services or health policy.